Lost and Found
by Georgy-Girl
Summary: Co-written with Queenconniebee. How will Connie cope when Jacob is hurt and she cannot be there to make sure he's okay?
1. Chapter 1

White silk robe pulled tightly around her, Connie stood by her large bedroom windows savouring the sunrise that she was usually far too busy to even notice. She'd been unable to sleep that night so had risen soon after 3 to distract herself with the paperwork she'd brought home for just that reason. She'd never before experienced a feeling like this, and Connie was unsure how to deal with it. In the past, she'd barely noticed if a partner left for a few weeks, or if she had noticed she was pleased there were fewer distractions in her life. This time, however, the fortnight Jacob would be away stretched before her like some depressing, worrying desert that she had no hope of crossing. She shook these feelings off, told herself she was being stupid, but it didn't help. She would miss him. A lot.

Connie was suddenly pulled from her thoughts by a noise behind her, and a smile quickly pulled at her lips. "Did you just take a photo of me?"

"Something to remember you by while I'm gone." Jacob replied as he put down his phone and slipped from the bed to wrap his arms around his girlfriend's waist. "Why are you up so early?"

"Couldn't sleep." Was all Connie offered as she rested back into his chest.

"Well, I don't need to be at the airport until 11, so we could go back to bed and not sleep together?" Jacob whispered in her ear, eliciting another smile.

"I like the sound of that, Staff Nurse Masters." Connie turned in his arms and dropped a kiss to his lips, smiling as his hands moved to undo the ties of her robe.

...

"I need to get going now, sweet cheeks." He rose up onto his side to hover over her, grinning against her lips as she drew him down onto her, before pulling away and swinging himself around and off the bed. She watched him as he moved around the room, gathering clothes as he went, before turning onto her front and bunching the covers around her. She was doing the night shift for as many nights as she could bear, but that did mean that she would have to occupy herself in her house alone, which would be especially difficult this morning.

He came around to take his phone from the table next to the bed, bending down to her level as she lay there, hair tumbling free around her face, taking his hand to stroke it away from her eyes. "You know, I could always..."

"No, Jacob. You're going, it'll give me some peace." She smiled at him, and he sighed before smiling back, knowing that as much as she was trying to make it sound as though she didn't mind even in the slightest, he knew she did.

"Come downstairs? The taxi won't be here for another fifteen minutes. Come on, I'll make you some breakfast."

"Too sleepy." Connie grumbled, moaning when Jacob pulled the sheets off her anyway, allowing the cold air to prickle her body. A laugh then escaped her lips as Jacob dropped a light smack to her bare bum before leaving the room. Smiling to herself, Connie stayed where she was for a few seconds before she climbed from the bed, pulling her dressing gown back on.

"There better be a coffee in there for me, Masters!" She called as she sauntered towards the kitchen.

...

"Bye."

"Bye." Connie replied, smiling into Jacob's lips as they said goodbye for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. Every time Jacob went to leave, he'd glance back at her and then return for just one more kiss. "Now go, or you'll miss your plane."

"I'll call you when I land." Jacob reassured her, picking up his bag before going for another kiss.

"You'll forget me as soon as you're out of the country. Go!"

"Don't forget Grace has that sports day on Thursday, and your mother wants to take you to see a house on Tuesday." Jacob reminded her, making Connie roll her eyes.

"I thought you were my boyfriend, not my social secretary! GO!"

"I'm your boyfriend, then?" Jacob grinned as he gave her one last kiss and then finally walked towards the taxi.

She walked slowly back through the house, to sit down at a stool in the kitchen. Grace had gone to stay with a friend for the night; and she expected the arrangement would continue during the time which Connie was working late. No doubt she would be accosted by some mother she didn't recognise later this afternoon when she went to pick Grace up from school.

Her phone buzzed on the table, and she scrolled the screen up quickly when she saw Jacob's name on it. She read the message, smiling, tapping a quick reply and finishing her coffee before heading upstairs to get dressed.

An hour later, she was settled back at the kitchen table, a mess of paperwork spread out in front of her. Her phone had now been silent for some time, and she turned her hand to look at her watch. She was dreading arriving at work this evening, it being a weekend and nearly summer; never a good combination. The words on the forms began to blur out of focus, her concentration lessening with every passing minute.

* * *

Jacob was just settling into his seat on the plane, but looking at his watch told him that by now, Connie would probably be doing paperwork and feeling sorry for herself. He glanced first at the photo he'd taken of her that morning before sending a message.

 _Check the bottom cupboard next to the oven. Present for you xx_

Frowning as she read the message, Connie stood up and walked towards the kitchen. _Why would you hide a present in there?_

 _Because I know it's one place you'll never check._

Connie smiled at this and then rested her phone to the table before bending to open the cupboard. A smile began to play on her lips as she saw a large basket in there. Resting on her heels, she pulled it out and slowly looked through the contents. Her favourite wine, a photo of a shirtless Jacob, a box of chocolates and-

Connie gasped and jumped up to grab her phone.

 _I love you!_

Jacob smiled down at his phone. _Like them, then? From me and Grace to cheer you up. I expect a picture of you in them._

Connie was too busy trying on her new shoes to reply. Inside the basket had been a pair of shoes she'd been trying to buy for months, but they were always out of stock. By the time she had calmed enough to reply to Jacob, his phone was already off, his plane in the sky.

* * *

Now feeling undeniably happier, Connie had the paperwork finished before she had to go and pick up Grace. She arrived at the school, waiting in the Mercedes for as long as she could before walking out to stand in the car park.

"Mum!"

"Gracie!" She smiled as her daughter ran over to her, and it wasn't long before, as she had predicted, another girl and her mother followed.

"Hello, I presume you're Grace's mum?"

"Yes, Connie Beauchamp." She winced slightly at how formal she sounded, she'd never been a part of any of the social circles at the school, and here nobody knew her or her job.

"Ah. I'm Claire Stead, Hannah's mum. I think the girls have arranged between themselves for Grace to stay over, I just wanted to check that it was okay with you?"

"Yes, that's fine by me. I'll drop her over before I go to work-"

"You work so late?"

Connie was taken aback at the question, and Grace looked up at her expectantly before filling in for her mother.

"Mum's a doctor. She runs the emergency department."

"Well... I had no idea. That must be hard, balancing this and that." She waved her hands vaguely, aware that this conversation with a woman she had never met, who was evidently very intelligent and well off, was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

"Yes. Right, well I'll drop Grace off later this evening. Your address?"

The other woman quickly recounted the details and then promptly left to find her car, leaving Connie and Grace standing together beside the Mercedes.

"So you like the shoes then?" Grace looked up at her mother, grinning. "Jacob said you would. He made me swear not to tell you anything about them for five days!"

"You lasted 5 days?! I bet you tried them on though, didn't you?" Connie smiled, and it widened when Grace just grinned in response.


	2. Chapter 2

Connie had just arrived at work, early, when she got a message from Jacob to say he'd arrived. Determined not to seem like the clingy girlfriend, Connie decided not to reply, at least straight away, and instead slid her phone back into her pocket.

...

"The missus not replying?" Jacob's friend Tom asked, glancing over his friend's shoulder as they waited in receptions for their hotel rooms to be readied.

"Nope." Jacob replied, sliding his phone into his pocket with a sigh. "Bar?"

"Bar."

* * *

The shift seemed to go both quickly and excruciatingly slowly for Connie. She was used to having Jacob around, someone who would always be there with a smile whenever she glanced up, and it was unnerving her how much she missed him. Busying herself with patients, Connie managed to ignore her phone until the early hours of the morning, but although she'd been expecting several texts from Jacob, she found only the first. With a sigh, she pushed her phone back into her pocket.

"What is going on in here!?" She clicked quickly from resus on hearing the commotion in reception, to find Charlie, who stood speechless at the sight in front of him.

"Stag."

"Yes, I can see that. Get them out."

"I can't just-"

"OUT, Charlie!"

She stalked quickly from the waiting area, and slammed the door of her office shut behind her. This shift was a nightmare, there was absolutely no way she could do this for a fortnight. She took her phone from her pocket, still no new messages from Jacob. He had said he would call her this evening, and Spain was only one hour ahead. She doubted very much that he would have gone to bed already.

"Mrs Beauchamp?" Noel knocked and then stuck his head around the door.

"For goodness' sake, WHAT NOW?"

"I'm sorry but um, there's a call for you-"

"I'm not going out there, put them through to the phone in here."

Seconds after Noel had left, the button on the phone at her desk lit up, and she picked it up, irritated and lacking patience.

"Mrs Beauchamp."

"Hey, sexy." Connie's face widened into a smile on hearing his voice.

"What...why didn't you just ring my mobile?"

"Well you didn't answer my text, did you sweet cheeks? So I thought maybe a phone call at reception could divert your attention for a few minutes. And you sound like you need it, that was a very stroppy-"

"Oh, shut up." She laughed, settling back in her chair.

"Nice. I take time out of my holiday to call you and that's what you say to me?" Jacob laughed softly. Though it was dark outside, the stars were shining brightly and he sat beside the gently lapping ocean, imagining Connie was beside him. "How's everything going there?"

Connie just replied with a sigh, resting her head back against the chair.

"That bad? The new shoes not helping?"

Connie glanced down at them and gave a slight smile. "Well, they're helping a little. Are you having a nice time?"

"I'm wishing you were here with me," Jacob replied smoothly.

"Oh, very likely," Connie offered sarcastically. "I don't think I'd fit in very well on a stag holiday, frankly."

"I could keep you hidden in my hotel room and you could lie in bed all day until I get back?"

"That sounds perfect." Connie allowed her eyes to drift shut, forgetting where she was for the tiniest moment.

"And if you were wearing the same as you wore this morning..."

"I wasn't wearing anything this morning." Connie reminded him, smiling herself when she heard him laugh. "I'd better get back to work, but now I know you're going to check up on me I promise to answer your text unless I'm elbow deep in something."

...

"Or someone." She muttered to herself, blood spilling over onto her scrub top as she struggled to stem the flow of it from this man's arm. It was an absolute mess, yet still there had been no call from upstairs.

"What was that?" Dylan stood on the opposite side, assisting. She looked up quickly before turning her attention back to the patient.

"Nothing." Oblivious to Dylan's raised eyebrow and pointed look as if to suggest otherwise, she continued to pull out clots and glass from the arm, groaning as blood flicked from her fingers and onto her foot.

"Problem?"

She ignored him, and the machine next to the bed stopped bleeping quite so rapidly. She called over to a nurse, before stripping away her gloves and motioning to the patient.

"Upstairs, now."

"But-"

"Oh, tell them I don't care."

* * *

"You coming in, J?"

"Yeah, five minutes." He was still sat outside, having left the group in the bar of the hotel which sat quite a comfortable walk from the sea.

"Alright. Send her a goodnight kiss from me, yeah?"

Jacob rolled his eyes at Tom's teasing, looking out once again at the sky above him. He took his phone from where he had placed it next to him, smiling as he saw a notification from her, along with an image file. He opened it, and chuckled as he saw the shoes, along with calves crossed elegantly over each other under her desk.

 _Night, sweet cheeks._

Connie felt her phone vibrate in her pocket as she stripped off the soiled gloves, but she was forced to wait a few minutes to check it. Fresh clothes finally on, Connie finally unlocked her phone and smiled at the message.

 _Night, Muscles._


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N- Thank you to everyone who is following this story, would really love some more reviews too!_

* * *

As Connie was leaving the hospital the next morning, Jacob was only just waking up. Stretching out, he yawned and then banged on the wall behind his head, aware that Tom would have a hangover. Almost immediately, he heard his friend groaning. Smiling to himself, Jacob slipped from the bed and took an orange juice from the minibar. He then pulled out his phone, but soon decided Connie would be home asleep by now, so he slid it back into his pants pocket and walked out onto the balcony to enjoy the warmth of the early morning sun.

...

Connie lay in bed staring up at the ceiling unable to get to sleep. After treating several men who were on a stag party that morning, all she could think of was something happening to Jacob. She wanted to call him and tell him to stay safe, but she also didn't want to be like the woman who'd come into work in tears because her boyfriend had broken a toe. Sighing, she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow Jacob normally used.

….

The group had decided to spend the day relaxing on the beach, having planned extensively for the evening ahead. Jacob had already congratulated himself on numerous occasions for being the only member to be fully functioning and competent, aware that he had to last out two weeks. He didn't regret coming, but he did miss Connie. He wasn't in his twenties or his thirties anymore, of course he liked the fun but he wasn't like his friends anymore. This past year and a bit had changed him; working at Holby, with her... It had changed him. And for the better, he believed.

* * *

Her alarm went off at two, and she groaned as she leant across the bed to slam it off. She inhaled, breathing in his smell from the pillow, before rolling over and wincing at the sunlight that peered through the gap in the curtains. She wasn't tall enough even in her heels, to reach and pull them across as far as they needed to in order to fully shut them. That was Jacob's job, now. She groaned again as she thought of another shift without him, and the fact that tonight he would have even less time to distract her.

She went downstairs, and straight into the brightly lit kitchen to the coffee machine. She lifted the too off, smiling as she saw there was already a pod ready to go after Jacob had made her one for breakfast yesterday. She switched the plug on, noticing a folded piece of paper which fell out from behind the machine, her smile widening as she opened it up.

'Present for day 2 is in your favourite mug. Enjoy xx'

Smile still playing on her lips, she pulled out her favourite mug which had a pair of earrings inside. Biting her lip, she slid them into her earlobes. lowering her gown off her shoulders slightly, she then took a photo of her face and bare shoulders and sent it to Jacob.

 _Do I get a present for every day you're away?_

Jacob had soon grown bored of sitting on the beach and instead was on a jog around the area they were staying. Puffing, he paused as soon as he felt his phone vibrate and a smile pulled at his lips.

 _That was the plan, but Grace and I ran out of ideas._

Connie sighed at the reply, wondering if he was currently in a club surrounded by young women in skimpy clothing, for he was never backward in coming forward when she sent such pictures to him, and this time he hadn't mentioned it. Putting down her phone, she went for a shower instead of replying.

Minutes after his reply to her message, an image notification appeared on his screen. He opened it and a small smile gradually widened to a full grin as the picture loaded fully, before he began to type a reply.

 _Constance, you_

He was interrupted by a sharp clap to his shoulder, and he immediately locked his phone.

"Alright, Tom?"

"Yes, man! You sneaking off or something?" He winked, and Jacob sighed, shaking his head. Really, he had wanted to run for a bit, find a quiet spot and call Connie, now knowing that she was awake and at home, but evidently that was not going to happen now. He put his phone back in his pocket, and allowed Tom to lead him back to the beach.

* * *

After showering, Connie went through to the bedroom to change into a loose fitting jumper and some pyjama bottoms. She only had a couple of hours before she was due back at the ED, and that thought drove her back to the bed, lying down on her back with her hands over her face. This was getting ridiculous, she just needed to try to forget the fact that he wasn't here, and then her moods wouldn't be so up and down, so inconsistent. He needed time to enjoy himself, and she could find ways to enjoy the time she had to herself too, if she stopped worrying about it all. She had managed fine on her own for years, a fortnight alone should be a blessing.

Her phone then vibrated on the bedside table and she reluctantly picked it up, partly hoping that it wouldn't be Jacob so that she could actually get on with the whole 'forget that he's not here and stop worrying' thing. She groaned as she saw Hanssen's email address, flipping the phone face down on the table and sitting up on the bed.

"Oh, get a grip." She muttered to herself, before opening the curtains fully and taking her towels back into the bathroom to dry. She was going to plan out her week, around things she and Grace could enjoy doing, and find Hanssen tonight to tell him that she would be doing alternate night shifts, because on second thoughts, a peaceful night alone at home was preferable to a night alone surrounded by drunk, bleeding men.

Jacob tried to reply or call several times that day, but every time he tried he was interrupted. It wasn't until almost midnight and he found himself alone outside once more that he called, but the call just went straight to voicemail. Frowning down at his phone, Jacob paused and then dialled receptions number once more.

"Holby City Emergency." Noel answered as he held out a vomit bowl to a drunk patient.

"Noel, my man! I don't suppose Mrs Beauchamp is around?" Jacob asked, toying with the beer he held in his hand.

"Jacob? No, she's not working tonight. I think she changed her shifts. Have you tried her mobile?" Noel questioned.

"...Must have just run out of battery or something. Knowing her, it'll be back up within minutes. Thanks, Noel."

"Don't forget to bring me back a present!" Called noel with a smile before he hung up.

Sighing, worried now, Jacob went to dial Connie's mobile number again, but before he could his friends exploded from the building behind.

"Jacob! We've booked some motorbikes and we're going on a ride around this place to find out where the party at!" Tom wobbled in front of him, beer in his hand.

"Haven't we all had a bit too much to drink for that?' Jacob questioned, though he was still only half way through his first beer.

"I told you he'd say that!" Came one call.

"Just leave him here!" Came another.

Jacob looked down at his phone and then back up at Tom. "Actually, you know what? Sounds like a brilliant idea."


	4. Chapter 4

"Have you heard from Jacob today, Mum?"

Connie looked up from the mixing bowl to watch her daughter as she weighed out flour, her expression one of mild annoyance.

"Not today, darling. Are you sure you don't mind staying at home rather than with Hannah?"

"Yep, if you're home then I'd much rather spend time with you." Grace turned back to watch the scales, but took a quick glance at her mother who was looking at her, smiling.

"What, Mum?"

"I'm just... I'm just so happy that things have worked out, Gracie."

"Me too, Mum."

"Right then. If you put that in here, you get the mixer out and do that whilst I sort the oven." Grace reached over to the CD player before tipping the contents of the scales in the bowl, the noise of the kitchen drowning out the notifications on Connie's phone, which lay forgotten under a recipe book on the kitchen table.

In Spain, Jacob lay on a hospital bed drifting in and out of consciousness. Every time he came round, his friends could only hear one word. "Connie."

"We're trying her mate, she's not answering." Tom hovered by his friends bed. They'd been riding around for almost an hour before the accident happened. Although he knew Jacob was the only one amongst them who had hardly had any alcohol, he was at the front of the pack when a truck travelled onto the wrong side of the road and had been unable to stop in time. It was almost in slow motion that his friends saw him sailing through the air, but the thud of him landing by the side of the road sobered them all instantly.

"Grace," Jacob finally managed, aware Grace always kept her phone on her.

"You want me to try Grace? I'll try her." With shaking hands, Tom scrolled through the contacts on Jacob's phone for the name Grace, but was unable to find it. Before Jacob could tell him that she was listed under 'firecracker' the morphine he'd been given took a wave over him and lowered Jacob back into unconsciousness.

Looking at his friend with panic, Tom decided to just try every number in the phone that had a nickname. For Jacob, that meant most of them. It was another ten minutes before he got down to 'firecracker' and he was feeling decidedly stressed.

...

"Mum, a weird number is calling me." Grace held out her phone as Connie bent down to put the cake in the oven.

...

"Tom, try from the phone by the bed. Maybe his contract is funny, this will have the right landline number." He wasn't sure who the suggestion came from but he agreed, and typed Grace's number into the phone, hoping desperately that she would answer.

...

"Leave it, Gracie, I'll check it in a minute." She closed the oven door and went to the sink to wash her hands, laughing as Grace came around to untie her apron. She pressed her wet hands to her daughter's cheeks, earning a grimace before a fit of giggles, and Grace handed her phone over to Connie.

"You shouldn't be getting funny phone calls, I'll block this one but if you get anymore I need to know, okay?"

"Okay."

Connie sat down on a stool at the table as she scrolled through Grace's call history, smiling as she flicked past the picture of her, Jacob and Grace together on her lock screen. "This isn't even a UK number." She muttered, and Grace came over to peek over her shoulder.

"I have Dad and Emma's numbers already in there-"

"It's not America, darling. 0034 that's..." She picked up her phone, ignoring the missed call notifications which were most probably from Hanssen, and quickly typed the country code into a search engine.

"Spain?"

"Hm?"

"Look, it says Spain." Grace pointed to the one of the results, and felt her mother immediately tense next to her. "Mum, what's wrong?" She got no reply, Connie quickly closed the internet screen and viewed her call history. 14 missed calls from his mobile, and three from the same number that had called Grace.

"..Why don't you go and-" Connie began, wanting Grace to be out of the room when she returned the call.

"Has something happened to Jacob?" Grace interrupted quietly.

"..I don't know, sweetheart. I'm going to call him back." Connie replied, pulling Grace to sit beside her on another stool. She hesitated then, unsure which number to call, but finally decided on just calling Jacob. Perhaps he'd just grown bored or was angry with her for not answering, or-

"Connie? Thank god." Tom let out a long breath. "I've been trying you for hours. My name is Tom, I'm-"

"I know who you are. Why are you using Jacob's phone?" Connie snapped, making Grace flinch.

As Tom went to reply, Jacob's eyelids flickered and he mumbled Connie's name again. "I have her on the phone, mate."

Though his arms felt heavy and moving them made him feel nauseous, Jacob lifted a hand for the phone. He needed to be the one to tell Connie something had happened.

As Connie gave a frustrated tut, only able to hear mumbles on the other end of the line, Tom's voice suddenly spoke clearly. "I'm going to put Jacob on the phone. He might be a little difficult to understand."

"Why?" Connie questioned, but Tom gave no answer, just put the phone to Jacob's ear.

"Q-queen B?" Jacob questioned, stuttering a little as he tried to stay awake.

When Connie shut her eyes, Grace saw her face visibly pale and moved to hug her mother. Connie pulled her close, holding her tightly as she wished she could hold Jacob. "What's happened?"

"I'm okay. I'm okay." Jacob managed, but it was all he could get out, because his tongue felt too big for his mouth and he couldn't seem to swallow anymore.

The last thing Connie heard before the phone went dead was Tom yelling at someone that Jacob was having a reaction to something. After that, there was a silence that Connie felt right through to her soul.

"Mum?" Grace shook her Mum's shoulder as she sat, frozen. "Mum?"

"I need.. I need to get to the hospital."

"Mum, what's happened?"

"Jacob... He's, he's-"

"Mum is he okay?"

"I don't know, Gracie, I don't... I don't know-" She could feel the back of her throat constricting, and she picked up her phone to call the number back. It dialled, but after two minutes of nothing, she hung up, her hand shaking. She then stood up suddenly, grabbed her phone and took her car keys from the dish on the side.

"Mum, what are you-" She ran after her, straight to the car, and had barely fastened her belt before it pulled away from the house.

"If I can find out where he is, I can get the hospital to put me through on a camera, Grace I need you to keep trying that number-"

"What if-"

"Grace, just do it." She looked across at her daughter, tapping her hands quickly against the wheel as they waited at traffic lights, and Grace saw the tears her mother was struggling to hold back.

"Mum, he'll be okay. Jacob's always okay."

Connie just nodded, though her heart continued to hammer in her chest.

When they arrived at Holby, Grace had to rush after her mother once more, offering apologetic smiles to the people her mother almost knocked over as they rushed past.

"What can I do, mum?" Grace questioned as her mother pushed open the door to her office.

Connie opened her mouth to tell her daughter just to sit down and be quiet, but then she saw how worried Grace looked. "Go and ask Noel for the spare key to Jacob's locker and look for something that says which hotel he's staying in. That might help us narrow down which hospital he's at."

After Grace nodded and rushed from the room, Connie searched for the list of Spanish hospitals she knew she'd been given quite recently after having to transfer a patient to one. Just as she came across it, Grace rushed back in.

"I found it!" She pushed it into her mother's hands with a smile, pleased she could be helpful .That smile widened when her mother dropped a kiss to her head before she began checking the address against the list of hospitals and the map of spain on her computer. As she dialled the first number, Grace stepped towards the desk.

"...I found this, too, mum." Grace put a small jewellery box down onto the table.

Connie glanced at it, but her thoughts were pulled away almost immediately as a receptionist answered. "I'm looking for a patient with the name of Jacob Masters."

"No está aquí."

"Pardon?" There was a pause, and Connie looked at the clock. They were wasting time.

"We have no Jacob Masters." Connie looked at Grace, shaking her head.

"Ask them about other hospitals in Benalmadena, Mum. That's where Jacob is, they'll know his hotel too." Connie covered the phone, before replying to her.

"I don't think he speaks much English, Grace, it'll be quicker to-"

"I'll ask, give me the phone."

"Grace, what-"

"Mum! Come on, we need to find him." She took the phone from her Mum, pushing the card with the hotel details on in front of her on the desk.

"Hola Señor. ¿Dónde está el hotel Palmasol?" Connie watched Grace, in disbelief.

"Cuarenta minutos."

"Gracias." Grace wrote "40 MINS" on a post-it note to her mother, listening to the receptionist on the other line. Connie shook herself, and went back to the map and telephone list to trace three hospitals in a 50 mile radius from the one she had already on the phone.

"He says there are three nearby hospitals."

"Grace, you are-"

"¡Gracias!" Grace hung up, and gave the phone back to her mother. "Do you have numbers for any of those?"

"All of them, but... Grace, you do french!"

"We changed at the beginning of this year. I did tell you... And we're doing tourism at the moment." Connie brought her daughter into a tight hug, fuelled by an instinctive surge of pride, before quickly dialling the number of the next hospital on the map.

"Hello? Yes, yes I am, thank you, I'm looking for Jacob Masters."

"Are you a relative?"

"Is he there?"

"I need your name, please."

"Just tell me if he's there!" Her voice had now raised considerably, unaware that Charlie was standing now in the doorway.

"I need to have your name."

"It's Connie Beauchamp, I'm head of-" she began, but was soon cut off.

"I know you. I was told if you call to transfer. One moment." With that she was put on hold, loud music suddenly blaring down the line.

"Anything I can help with?" Charlie asked hesitantly from the doorway as Grace asked, "Is he there?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. I think so. Charlie, can you book me a ticket? And Grace. Grace has the details. Go with him Gracie." Connie waved her from the room, unwilling to let her daughter see the tears if it was bad news. The thudding in her heart told her it would be bad news.

"But mum-"

"Come on, Grace. It won't take us long." Charlie ushered the girl from the room before giving his boss a smile as he shut the door to her office.


	5. Chapter 5

"Connie?" Tom's voice suddenly came down the line so much stronger and clearer than it had earlier.

"What's happened?" Connie asked sharply, a thin vail of anger managing to hold her tears at bay, at least for now.

"There was a motorbike accident. I don't understand exactly what's happened to Jacob, there's the language barrier and I don't know medical terms, but-"

"Does his doctor speak English?" She barked.

"Yes. At least a little."

"Put them on the phone. Now."

Tom glanced back at the doctor who was beside Jacob's bed, currently talking to the man himself who was refusing any more painkillers. Too scared of the woman on the line to say no to her, Ton just pushed the phone into Jacob's hand and the look on his friend's face told him exactly who was on the line.

"Connie?"

Ar the sound of his voice, tears finally began to fall and her next words were said softly, "what happened?"

"I'm ok." Jacob repeated. "I came off a bike, and I've hurt my side a bit."

"How much is a bit, Jacob? And what the hell happened earlier?"

Unable to reply aa a nurse began to clean the would with no anaesthetic, the phone was quickly pushed into the drs hands.

"Ah...Mrs Beauchamp? I've heard of you, i worked with Elliott Hope at-"

"I don't care. What is going on there?" Connie snapped, wiping furiously at her cheeks as she saw charlie and grace returning.

"Just... Tell her..." Jacob struggled to talk between the bolts of pain that seared into his side. "Tell her... Everything, she'll..." His eyes squeezed shut, and he groaned, his head rolling from side to side as he tried to block out the pain. "She'll only... Make you..."

"Alright Jacob, I would strongly advise you let us-"

"DON'T YOU DARE! YOU NEED TO RUN ALLERGY TESTS, NOW."

"Mrs Beauchamp, I-"

"I will be putting myself through onto a screen very shortly, so you do as I say, right now." She turned around to see Charlie already opening the office door and guiding Grace back out to go and inform Noel that they would be needing IT.

"Told you, mate." Jacob groaned, twisting despite the nurse's protests to stay still.

"Run the tests." The doctor motioned to the nurse, who stepped away from Jacob's side. He groaned again, before signalling for the phone.

"Con?" He was met with silence, until after a few seconds he heard a shallow, shaky breath. "Hey, hey I'm okay. Con, I'm okay..."

"Don't. I'll be there, Jacob I'll be there as soon as I-"

"Ssh, Connie it's okay. Stay with Grace, they'll find..." He winced again, before continuing, a little breathless. "They'll find out what happened, and it'll be okay."

"You're not telling me what to do." She whispered, brushing tears from her cheeks as she cleared her throat, motioning for the technicians to come through to her office.

As they set up the video, Grace hovered by her mother's arm. "I need to talk to him." She told her mother.

"Soon." Connie replied, listening to Jacob's breath catch in his throat every time he tried to breath in deeply. "Why were you on a motorbike, anyway? You hate mine."

"Because I didn't want something like this to happen to you," Jacob attempted a laugh, but it turned into a groan that made Connie flinch, for it hurt her too.

"Mum, I need to talk to him!" Grace insisted, tugging on her mother's arm.

With a sigh, Connie glanced at her daughter and then held the phone away from her ear, putting it on speaker. "Jacob, Grace wants to talk to you."

In spain, Jacob grimaced , beginning to feel as though he was fighting with consciousness again. "Gracie?"

Grace then said what Connie had found herself so unable to say. "We love you, Jacob, and we miss you. We're going to come there and fix you up, I promise. Mum will make you all better, won't you mum?" Grace then glanced at her mother, who brushed tears from her cheeks.

"Mum?"

"Sorry, Gracie I just..." She blew out a long breath, and folded her arms in front of her as she true to regain some composure.

"Jacob?" Grace held the phone tightly to her ear, glancing at her mother as she watched the technicians at her desk. "How bad is it?"

"I'm okay, firecracker..."

"That's not true, is it? Mum wouldn't be so upset if she thought you were okay." At this, Connie's head turned and she looked at her daughter, who offered a sad smile. She could say everything to him that she herself was currently unable to. Grace then glanced at the desk, at the jewellery box, and then to her mother who was now sat at the computer screen.

"Connie..." Jacob groaned again, and Grace could hear his sharp breaths as he tried to force away the pain.

"It's done, you should be able to get through now." The men at the desk quickly left the room, closing the door behind them, leaving Grace and Connie alone, Charlie hovering just outside the office door.

Soon the picture on her screen crackled into life. They were in a small room, nurses and doctors hovering all around Jacob, but unlike he would have in england, there were no wires attached to him, no monitors beeping, just the man attempting not to wriggle but unable to stop it as pain shot through his side. The person holding the iPad soon moved closer so Connie could speak to the doctor, but she was unable to draw her eyes from Jacob. Unable to look, Grace buried her face into her mother's shoulder, and Connie found herself holding her tightly.

"Mrs Beauchamp? Does Jacob have a history of any allergies? We've asked him, but he says he can't remember." The doctor questioned.

"Not that I'm aware of. I need you to hold the camera closer to him so I can see what's going on." Connie instructed, but Jacob shook his head.

"No." He managed, attempting to cover himself. "N-not with Grace there."

"Grace, can you go and wait outside with Charlie? I'll call you back in soon." Connie promised her daughter who nodded, pulling away. When the door was shut, Connie nodded at the nurse, who quickly moved the camera closer.

Jacob began muttering something, trying to keep himself awake as his eyes rolled in his head, and everyone began to grow nervous as Connie remained silent. She was shocked at the state of Jacob's usually lean middle, which was now covered in wet and drying blood.

"It's not an allergic reaction. You can see there, there's a clot blocking... Blocking..." Her hands went to her mouth, and she struggled as her breaths rose, before an arm lowered onto the desk so she could steady herself. "You need to get him into theatre, now."

"He won't let us anaesthetise him..."

"Pull the camera up."

It was a tearful whisper, and the doctor looked to the assistant before asking her to repeat what she had said. The camera moved and she could see him lying there, and how his face contorted every few seconds, before taking a glance behind ber to see Grace pressed against the door.

"Jacob, you let them do their job. You know as well as I do that if they don't remove that clot and sort the veins-"

"I had... I had to wait for, for you..." He trailed off, and Connie felt a stray droplet run down her cheek.

"You've seen me now, I'm here. Okay, get him out of that room, now." She spoke louder now, and opened the door, Grace rushing in to stand at the computer.

"Mum, where are they taking him?" When her mother didn't reply, she shook her arm. "Mum!"

"He's going into surgery, sweetheart." Connie managed to say softly, her eyes on the small box that still rested on the desk.

"But he'll be okay, won't he?" Grace whispered, scared. She had grown to love Jacob, for he was the only person she'd ever met who just accepted her as she was and wanted to spend time with her even though he didn't have to. At least once a week, they went out just the two of them, and he always let Grace pick where.

"Yeah." Connie managed, gesturing for Charlie to come in. "Did you manage to book anything?"

"There's a flight going in an hour..." Charlie replied.

Connie was unsure what to do. She knew that Jacob would be in surgery for a while and she would be unable to do anything, but the thought of something happening to him, the thought of having to keep her phone off while on the flight...

"Mrs Beauchamp?" The nurse questioned, the camera now only showing the empty space where Jacob's bed had been.

"I'm on my there. I'll be on a flight within the hour." Connie replied as she stood up.

"I'll pick you up from the airport." Tom offered, hovering in front of the camera.

"No thank you." Connie spoke icily. "I think you've done quite enough." With that, she disconnected the call. "Okay sweetheart, give me five minutes and then we'll get some things together at home."

Grace nodded, sitting down on the sofa and watching as her mother unplugged the camera from her computer and tossed a plethora of wires onto her desk.

"Oh, and Grace..." Connie paused, taking the small box from the desk before handing it to her daughter. "Take this back to his locker."

"But Mum, I think-"

"Gracie, please." She said, softly. Again, Grace nodded and did as her mother asked.


	6. Chapter 6

Fifty minutes later, Connie and Grace sat on the plane, anxious to take off. Connie sat at the window, her nails tapping nervously against the glass, next to her daughter whose head rested gently against her shoulder. She had been assured, before she left the ED, that Jacob had been taken to theatre and would probably be in recovery upon their arrival. She had looked up the distance from the airport to the hospital, thankfully it was all relatively central so transport wouldn't be a problem. She hoped.

"He'll be okay, Mum." Grace turned her head to her mum, and Connie gently stroked Grace's head in response. She then decided she simply couldn't keep quiet any longer, she was too excited and they needed something happy to talk about. "Mum, do you think it was a ring?"

"What, darling?"

"In the box! I think it was a ring..."

"Oh Grace, I highly doubt... We've not talked about it at all-"

"We have." At this, Connie's head turned sharply to her daughter.

"You've what?"

Grace gave a shrug, a little embarrassed now. "I asked him what his intentions were."

Despite the feelings currently swirling around inside her mind, Connie managed a smile at this. "I think you've been watching too many movies."

"That's what Jacob said. Then he teased me, asking if I wanted to be called Grace Beauchamp-Strachan-Masters. Then I got cross with him, and he said that he'd never met anyone like you before. I asked him if he wanted to marry you, and he said he'd never be able to afford thing sort of ring you deserve."

Connie found that her heart did a strange flip then. She'd never even considered getting married again, not even when she'd started dating Jacob, but the thought that he'd considered it-

"I told him I thought you'd be happy with whatever ring he chose. You would be, wouldn't you mum?" Grace questioned, turning to look at her mother.

Connie was saved from answering by the beginning of the safety demonstration, and spent the rest of the flight trying not to think of Grace's words.

* * *

"Where's Jacob Masters?" Connie snapped at the receptionist as soon as they arrived at the hospital, but she was only met with a blank stare. "Where is the recovery ward?" Connie tried to speak slower, frustrated, but was again met by a blank stare.

As soon as the plane had landed, Connie's phone was back on, but she'd received nothing. No update. This scared her more than anything.

Grace had tried to reassure her, saying that no news was probably good news rather than bad. She had said that the doctors wouldn't dare to expect her to arrive and find him worse than he had been when she had spoken to him in England.

The receptionist at the desk continued to stare at her, and she looked around her to see if there were any signs she could follow herself. There were, except she couldn't read them.

"Oh, for goodness' sake, Grace can you-"

"Grace?!"

The two of them turned around from the desk to see a man, who Connie recognised immediately as Tom.

"Connie. We're just waiting for a call from the theatre, they took him straight away as soon as he agreed to the anaesthetic. He refused to do anything until he saw you-"

"Right, unless you stop talking, you can leave. I don't want you anywhere near him."

"That's-" He immediately fell quiet at her expression, and led her from reception to the lift. Grace took her mother's hand, and squeezed it, looking up to her when she didn't squeeze back.

Her mother finally offered her a distracted smile as Tom them silently led her towards the recovery ward.

"He'll be okay, mum. I promise. Jacob is always okay." Grace tried to reassure her again, but knew that it fell on deaf ears. Her mother's mind was now so focused on Jacob that nothing anyone else said could get through.

"He'll be in there soon." Tom finally stopped and indicated to a large door. "He-"

"You can leave now, you're no longer needed." Connie snapped, ushering Grace towards a seat, though she herself stayed standing. "No, actually, you can go to your hotel and pack Jacob's things then bring them back here. Unless you're still too drunk to do that."

Grace attempted to offer Tom an apologetic grin as he lowered his head and walked away. "It's not his fault, mum."

"Who's fault is it, then?" Connie snapped, regretting it immediately as she saw the tears shine in her daughter's eyes. Sighing, she moved forward and pulled the girl from her seat and into her arms. "I'm sorry, Gracie. I'm just.." She went silent, struggling to find the right word.

"Scared?" Grace asked softly.

Connie finally nodded in response.

"Let's sit here, then we'll see him right when he comes out." Grace pointed to some plastic chairs that lined the walls of the ward, taking her mother's hand to lead her over. They sat down, Connie staring straight ahead except from whenever she heard a door swing open; her head would turn sharply to the side and Grace would forget to let out her breath. Half an hour later, there was still no sign of Jacob, or any other doctor on the ward for that matter.

"Grace Beauchamp-Strachan-Masters." Connie talked quietly, and laughed softly as the name rolled from her lips. Absolutely not; it was a list of men, some of whom she did love or had loved, and Grace didn't deserve the raised eyebrows and knowing looks that would pass between people. She hated the fact Grace was affiliated with Michael, but that was something that she could change... Maybe. If Grace wanted.

"It's awful, isn't it Mum? It takes me long enough to write Beauchamp-Strachan. Not to mention the silly spellings."

"Come here." Connie wrapped her arms around her daughter and rested her head on hers. She closed her eyes momentarily, she was scared as Grace had rightly judged, but also confused, and upset. Just then, a door opened and she heard the intense rattle of a bed being wheeled down the ward, and felt how her daughter leapt from her arms to stand, eyeing her mother in confusion as she stayed put.

"I don't-" Connie began, but before she could finish, though she wasn't sure what she'd intended to say, a harried looking nurse rushed through the doors.

"Mrs Beauchamp?" She questioned. When Connie gave no reply, Grace nodded for her.

"Is Jacob okay?" She asked, trying to sound confident and strong for her mother. Connie heard the wobble in her voice though, and reached out an arm to put it around her daughter's shoulders.

"You wait out here for a minute, sweetheart, while I go in and see how he is." Connie pulled Grace close and dropped a kiss to her head. Grace wanted to object, but knew now wasn't the time, so she just stood where she was and watched her mother's hesitant steps towards the recovery ward.


	7. Chapter 7

Connie took a deep breath and then pushed open the doors. She saw Jacob almost immediately. He looked too big for the hospital bed he was on, and the sheet over him was stained red in parts, but when her eyes finally moved to his face, she found that he was awake and offering her a smile. That smile seemed to break her, and the tears she'd been holding in for hours finally began to fall.

Jacob opened his mouth and spoke to her, but she was still so far away she couldn't hear what he said, her back pressed against the door as her shoulder's shook. Jacob held out a hand then, and there was no mistake what he saying. He was saying her name.

"You, you stupid, stupid man!" She whispered as she cried, her words broken and interrupted. "You should have been in there long before you tried to call me-"

"I had to see you. I couldn't... I couldn't stand not seeing you if-"

"Don't." Her hands were pressed behind her into the door, and his were still reaching towards her.

"Connie..." He groaned as he tried to reach further, and as she looked at him a new wave of emotion took over, the tears running steadily down her cheeks.

"That clot... The infection, Jacob I... I nearly..." She couldn't bring herself to say it. She took a tentative step forward from the door, and then another.

"Connie, please... Come here." He stretched his arms again, as she took another small step forward. He winced as he reached to take hold of her hand, pulling her closer to the bed. "I can't... I can't..." He struggled to reach her waist, but she caressed his hand, and the his head which settled back onto the pillow at her touch.

"This is enough, Jacob. You don't need more of me here now, I'm not leaving." She saw a stray droplet pass down the side of his nose, and she extended a hand to brush it away.

"I'm starting to feel like we've done this all before." He managed a small smile, watching as she shook her head, softly laughing before meeting his eyes with her tearful ones. "Hey... I'm going to be okay. It's going to be okay, Con." When she didn't respond, he massaged her hand within his, looking from her eyes to over her shoulder where he could see Grace pressing her face against the glass of the door panel.

"You brought Grace?" Jacob questioned. "I guess her Spanish came in handy."

"You knew she was learning it?" Connie questioned, attempting to lift the blanket over Jacob so she could look at how well they'd dealt with the wound.

Jacob grabbed her hand instead, holding both her hands as tightly as he could. "She helped me with phrases before I came. She's good."

Connie turned to motion for Grace to come in, and once more the girl reacted as Connie wished she'd been able to. She ran into the room and threw her arms around Jacob's shoulders, crying into him as he tried to reassure her quietly, though his eyes were still on Connie.

'I love you' Connie managed to mouth, her hand holding tightly to his as her free hand brushed away more of her tears before she put a hand on her daughter's back. "That's enough now, Gracie. We don't want to tire him out."

"You'll be okay now mum is here." Grace reassured Jacob as she pulled back. "But she's never, ever going to let you go on holiday again. I fell off some monkey bars when I was 5 and I'm still banned from going on them."

This earned a chuckle from Jacob, and then a groan. Connie's eyes darted to the sheet.

"Gracie... Will you go and get your Mum something to eat? There's some vending machines downstairs." She nodded, pressed a kiss to his forehead, before rummaging in her mum's bag for her purse and quickly leaving the room.

Once she had gone, he turned to Connie, who had already pulled back the sheet to examine his torso. She then quickly moved around to the foot of the bed to find his patient notes and medication, deliberately ignoring the questioning looks that were being directed at her from the other end of the bed.

"No strenuous activities for a while then?" He tried to make light of the situation, grinning as she lifted her focus from the paperwork.

"Is that really all you can think about right now?"

"My concern is only for you, sweet cheeks." He winced again as he tried to straighten himself to see her, eyes back down on the file in her hands. "Should it be stinging that much?" She looked at him then, her eyebrows raised.

"You effectively grated yourself on a road, Jacob. Yes."

"Well, I hope it's made you think twice about tearing around town on that bike of yours." Jacob groaned, pushing himself up a little. "Where's Tom?"

"Did they say when your doctor would be back to see you? These notes are incomplete."

"Ah, classic Connie avoidance." Jacob smiled, wincing again as he tried to draw in a deep breath. "Am I going to get a kiss, sweet cheeks?"

"No." Connie snapped, oblivious to the fact several nurses glanced their way. "You put your life at risk, and you...you scared me! So no, I'm not going to kiss you. I'm going to get you better, I'm going to get you home, and then I'm going to...slap you so hard you never do anything so stupid again. Okay?!"

Though the nurses looked shocked, Jacob's smile widened and then rested his head back against the pillow. "Missed you, Con."

Sighing, Connie stepped back towards him and ran a hand gently across the side of his head. "Get some rest. I won't go anywhere."

When Grace returned hesitantly a short while later, she found Jacob fast asleep and her mother's lips pressed to his gently.

Grace had then insisted that she stay with Jacob whilst her mother had a break. She protested severely for ten minutes, before reluctantly agreeing to be back in half an hour; she would find Grace some food that wasn't KitKats and if anything happened then Grace was to call her immediately.

Grace stayed sitting on the chair beside Jacob, where her mother had been sitting, looking around her at the monitors and shelves that had always fascinated her. Her surveillance was interrupted by a long groan, and she turned her head quickly to see his eyes flicker open.

"Con..."

"She'll be back in a minute, Jacob. She said that you being in hospital was no excuse for my teeth to rot."

"Sorry, firecracker." He gave a small laugh, at which Grace pressed her palm into his shoulder.

"Don't laugh, if you tear anything or something happens to you whilst she's not here-"

"Got it. No laughing." He winked at her, and she settled back into the chair, sighing.

"Jacob, are you going to marry Mum?"

"Not today, I don't think I'd look very good in the photos." Jacob replied, giving a slow blink followed by a yawn.

"I found the ring, and mum saw it too." Grace offered quietly. When she saw Jacob tense, she added, "I had to look in your locker for the details of your hotel, and it was just... there. I took it into her office-"

"what did she say?" Jacob asked quietly.

"She just told me to put it back." Grace shrugged. "But I know she 'd say yes if you asked her. She doesn't catch a plane on an hours notice without her make-up bag for just anyone."

"No make-up bag? Must be serious." Jacob smiled at the girl beside him who reached out her small hand and took his tightly. "I'm okay, Miss Grace Beauchamp-Strachan-Masters."

"Is that a yes to my question, then?" Grace asked with a smile as she pressed the small jewellery box into the palm of his hand.

He turned the box over in his hand, before meeting her eyes. "What're you up to, firecracker?"

"She'd say yes."

"Not today she wouldn't, I think she's rather cross-"

"No she isn't. She tries to be cross with you but she isn't." He raised his eyebrows, and Grace raised hers back, the image of her mother. "She loooves you." She then giggled, before composing herself and regarding Jacob seriously. "But I'd rather just have your name please, Beauchamp-Strachan-Masters sounds-" She fell silent as Jacob motioned for her to, as he saw Connie the door open, a carrier bag in either hand.

"Right, I've got some oranges, and some funny looking fruit bars but it'll have to do, and you're nil by mouth so don't you start..." She continued without looking up, settling the bags on the floor and replacing her purse in her bag. She then straightened, and looked at the two of them, who smiled at her as she placed her hands on her hips. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Jacob has something he wants to-"

"Hey, hey Grace I-"

"No, he really does. I'll go."

She smiled sweetly at her mother, and then glanced back to Jacob who stared back at her, open mouthed.

"What's going on?" Connie asked as Grace slipped from the room quietly. "Jacob?"

Jacob held out his hand and opened it slowly, revealing the box. "She brought this."

"..I told her to put it back indoor locker." Connie offered softly. Reaching out, she shut his hand back over the box. "Not now."

"When?" Jacob asked just as quietly.

"When you're better." Connie responded, bending down to kiss the man in front of her gently. "But the answer is yes." Pulling back, she smiled, but it faded when she found Jacob's eyelids partly closed, his eyes rolled back. "Jacob? Jacob?!" She rubbed his chest, looking up as nurses and the doctor began rushing towards them. "What's happened? What have you done to him?!" She was pushed back as they surrounded the man in the bed. His hand fell open, and the box tumbled to the floor.

"LET ME THROUGH." Two doctors tried to hold her back, insisting for her to leave, but to no avail. She pulled back the sheet to see the wound leaking through the stitches, and she immediately wished that she had been more attentive earlier instead of brushing aside his complaints.

"Mrs Beauchamp, you need to step away and let us take him back to theatre."

"You're not..." She felt tears rush back to her eyes, and she desperately tried to blink them away and regain her authority. "I'm not leaving him." She moved slightly to allow his bed to be pushed out of the doors, and Grace immediately ran to her side, grabbing the rails of the bed.

"Mum, what's going on?"

"I'm taking him back into theatre, Grace. Just wait here." She passed by her daughter who stood by the door to the recovery room, helpless. She didn't understand why her mother was being so dismissive, Jacob was fine. He had been talking to her only moments earlier. She watched as her mother pushed through the next set of doors and disappeared, before quickly opening the door of his room and looking down at the box and the ring, which had scattered across the floor.


	8. Chapter 8

Jacob woke with a groan. His head was throbbing and one side of his body ached. He must be in the on call room, for no other bed was this uncomfortable. His eyes flickered open and a frown creased his forehead. He was in a room he didn't recognise, late afternoon light filtering in through some heavy curtains. Jacob could smell Connie's perfume, and wondered momentarily if they were in a hotel. The thought was pushed aside immediately. Connie would never book a hotel that looked like this. He tried to open his mouth and call for her in case she'd be able to explain, but his head was too fuzzy and his mouth to dry to form words.

Turning his head slowly, Jacob looked around the room for a clue, any sort of clue that might tell him what was going on. His frown then deepened when he found both Connie and Grace curled up in small armchairs beside his bed, both fast asleep.

As his eyes flicked between them, Jacob finally began to remember where he was and what had happened. Mouth still to dry to make a noise, he reached out a surprisingly heavy arm and managed to brush his finger's against Connie's leg. Though her eyelids flickered, she didn't wake and he was forced to try again. This time, they eyes flew open and she moved towards him faster than Jacob's eyes could travel, making him dizzy.

"Jacob!" Connie smiled down at him, her hand cupping his cheek. "You're okay. You're okay."

Jacob motioned to his mouth, and a moment later Connie pressed a cup of water to his lips, a smile still on her face though tears trickled slowly down her cheeks.

She returned the cup to the table, brushing at her eyes, and Grace moved over to stand next to Jacob's bed.

"It's okay, Mum fixed you. She told me what happened, and that you didn't have a heart attack because she said no." This earned a soft chuckle, followed immediately by a groan.

"Ssh Gracie, don't make him laugh." Connie turned around to sit back down on the chair she had been sleeping on, next to Grace, and Jacob raised his arm slightly so that his hand rested on her knee.

"I love you."

"I love you too." She pressed her hand over his, before reaching over to kiss his lips. Grace stood up and moved around the bed, to prop up his pillows which had fallen down behind him.

"Come here, firecracker." He motioned for her to lean closer so that Connie was out of earshot, whispering to her and receiving a happy giggle.

"Mum's relented and let your friends come in to see you. They're all waiting at the cafe downstairs, I can go and get them?" Grace questioned. Jacob raised his eyebrows at the thought of Connie relenting, but nodded his head anyway, wanting to be alone with his girlfriend for at least a few minutes.

After Grace rushed out of the room, Jacob's eyes turned to Connie and his smile softened as he tugged on her hand. "Come here."

"No." Connie shook her head, brushing away a few more tears which seemed to be escaping even though she was trying with all her might to keep them in.

"Where'd you learn to be so tough, hey? I wouldn't have thought kids would have teased the girl whose father owned the whole of Peckham." Jacob teased softly and was rewarded with a slight smile, but it was quickly followed by heavier tears.

"I thought I'd lost you. I couldn't seem to make my hands do what they always do, but I couldn't trust anyone else to do it either." Connie's facade finally crumbled and she moved towards him, burying her face into his neck as she held him as well as she could without hurting him. Jacob's free arm quickly moved to wrap around her and he lowered his head to kiss away her tears.

"How could I go when I had the best doctor in all of England and Spain looking after me?" Jacob questioned, shutting his eyes as he breathed in the perfume that had invaded his mind even while unconscious. "I'll be okay, Connie."

Connie nodded, sniffing back her tears before she lifted her head. She could hear voices in the corridor and went to fold her arms to restore her 'Mrs Connie Beauchamp' front, but Jacob shook his head and a moment later she was once more hiding her face in him as his friends entered the room hesitantly.

"Hey..." He used one arm to motion them over, but they only took tentative steps forward on seeing Connie in his arms. "Guys, it's okay. She's too tired to bite you."

"Am not." She murmured into his neck, before straightening to see Tom and three other men standing in the room, whilst Grace stood outside.

"Connie, we-"

"I know, just... Don't make him laugh. I'm going to find Grace, and I'll be back in five minutes. And I want him alive." She raised her eyebrows at Tom's mock salute, before leaving the room, glancing behind her once more before turning to her daughter.

"It wasn't their fault, Mum."

"Mhm."

"How long until-"

"I'd say a week. He'll say less, but don't listen to him."

"Will we stay at the hospital or get a hotel?" Grace questioned. Sleeping on hospital chairs had made her backache, and though she loved Jacob, she also loved washing her hair and hotel food.

Her mother however looked torn. She was unwilling to leave Jacob, but she could see how tired her daughter looked and imagined she looked a lot worse. Connie glanced back into the hospital room. "I think I saw a hotel next door on the way here. Let's go and see if they have a room available."

"What about Jacob, though?"

"We'll sort something out with his friends." Connie led her daughter away from his hospital room. "And I think all 3 of us need something else to wear."

Inside Jacob's room, he was hearing from his friends for the first time exactly what happened. He hadn't risked a look at either his medical notes or his side, because a look on the nurses face had told him all he needed to know. "Have you told Connie all this?"

"No chance. She's terrifying." Tom grinned.

"She slapped Tom earlier and all he told her was that the motorbikes had been his idea," Another friend offered.

Jacob gave a laugh at the image this conjured, but then groaned as pain pulled at his side. "She's a pussycat when you get to know her."

"Who is?" Connie asked from the doorway, eyebrow raised.


	9. Chapter 9

A week later, Jacob was insisting that they return to England. Connie and Grace had spent most of the time in hospital with him; save for a few shopping trips and Grace's supervised visit to the ice cream shop with two of Jacob's friends one extremely hot afternoon. The wound was healing well, and although she didn't want to think of this as a priority over Jacob when it wasn't, she had taken a week off work now, and she doubted that her sudden departure would have been received kindly.

"You know," Jacob struggled to pull his belt over him as they settles onto the plane, wincing as he turned over some of the bandages. "They find you terrifying."

"Who?"

"Tom and the others."

"Good." At this, he chuckled, and she hit his wrist gently before checking her other side to make sure Grace had her belt sorted. She then leant her head onto Jacob's shoulder, and he put an arm around her, taking a deep breath as he did, earning a stern glare at which he raised an eyebrow.

"See?"

"You shouldn't be doing anything to make it hurt."

"It's fine, Con-"

"It's not-"

"If you're going to do this the entire way to England, please can I move seats?" Grace rolled her eyes at her mother before turning around her, eyeing prospective spaces. "You'll argue for ages, then start kissing and that's all you've done this week, I can't watch it in a confined space as well."

Jacob nodded hishead. "Listen to your daughter and stop picking on me."

"I wasn't-" Connie began, but when both Grace and Jacob raised their eyebrows, she just gave a sigh and rested back in her seat, shutting her eyes. She hadn't slept well in the last week as she'd only slept in bursts, not trusting anyone else to look after Jacob, so as soon as her eyes shut she was asleep.

"Do you think she'll calm down now we're on the way home and you're no longer looking so pathetic?" Grace questioned before emitting a giggle as Jacob mimicked Connie's raised eyebrow expression.

"Who knows, firecracker. What I do know is that the ED is going to be a mess, so she's probably going to have to be at work a lot, and that means you and I need to make sure she looks after herself." Jacob replied as the plane began to roll down the runway.

"When are you going to propose?"

"You need to learn to mind your own business, Miss Beauchamp." Jacob smiled, resting back in his seat. "Now stop bothering me, I'm old and injured."

Smiling to herself, Grace slid on headphones and shut her eyes.

Three hours later, they were home. Connie didn't dare turn her phone on again, dreading the influx of emails and calls that would have to be dealt with soon; she couldn't avoid them forever. Grace helped Jacob to the sofa, who protested despite his obvious struggle getting from the car to the front door after a day of travelling. Grace gave him her best firm stare, and he eventually relented, and was sleeping a mere twenty minutes later.

"Mum?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"How long will Jacob be off for?"

"He'll have to be assessed, Gracie. But I will have to work, and you will have to go to school, so don't go looking at me like that." Grace sighed, before going back into the front room and standing in the doorway.

"Grace, do you want some pasta or something?" Connie called through, coming to stand next to her daughter when she received no response. "Gracie?"

"I like the one Jacob makes."

"Darling, I don't think Jacob's up to making you fancy-schmancy tagliatelle."

"Can't we just get-"

"Er, no."

Grace sighed and looked at her mother with large eyes. "But what about something from Jacob's favourite restaurant?"

"stop looking at me like that, young lady. you've had enough take away this week to last you the year. So, it's pasta or..." Connie opened the fridge and wrinkled her nose at the state of the food in there. "..Take away it is!"

...

The next morning life was back to usual. Well, almost. Grace had argued about going to school, Connie was up early beginning paperwork that Charlie had arrived with the night before, but Jacob stayed fast asleep. He'd barely moved from the sofa since they arrived back, as his medication made him sleepy. When he did wake, he was disoriented and his footsteps stumbled as he walked towards the sound of Connie on the phone.

When she saw him in the doorway, Connie covered the phone. "Are you okay?"

Jacob nodded, rubbing his face sleepily as he entered the room, flicking through the files that now rested on the desk that mimicked Connie's office desk perfectly. "You're not going in?"

"And leave you here alone to go to the gym or something ridiculous?" Connie questioned, waving his hand away from the work she was sorted through before she snapped at the person on the phone.

Smiling to himself, Jacob bent to drop a kiss to her head. Connie Beauchamp was back.

"That's not going to work." She motioned with her hands in order to emphasise the futility of the point the other person was making, before standing up and moving to the window. He watched as she paced about the room in agitation, making up for the fact that she couldn't stalk through the ED, barking at staff and at the person on the other end of the line simultaneously. "Yes, you've got two minutes." She then brought the phone away fro her ear, sighing in frustration, looking at Jacob as he beckoned her over.

"Sit down." He gestured to his lap, and she raised her eyebrow.

"Don't go getting any ideas. You're not up for it."

"Ssh. Just sit down." She sighed again, as he now reached to her waist and pulled her forcibly down onto his legs. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips before bringing the phone back to her ear. She closed her eyes, her head shaking as the person continued to say all of the wrong things.

"No, you know what, I'll just sort it myself. Don't trouble yourself." She then hung up, and tossed the phone behind her onto a pile of cushions.

"You're extremely attractive when you get angry."

"Oh, so I'm not terrifying anymore?"

"Attractive and terrifying. I like the combination. In fact-"

"Behave." She kissed him again, her hands curling around his head before she slipped from his legs, laughing as he groaned, not from pain but from loss of contact.

"Connie..."

"I don't do pity. You brought this on yourself, I'm not going to give in that easily, Masters."

"What do you think of that name?" Jacob questioned as Connie returned to the desk to find the staff rota.

"Hmm?" Connie asked, blowing the fringe from her eyes so she could see better.

"What do you think of the name Masters?" Jacob repeated.

Connie froze then, Grace's words about marriage quickly coming back to her. "It suits you." Connie finally replied, keeping her back to Jacob.

"Come back and sit with me for a minute."

"I've got work to do, Jacob, and I need to go out and get some food because there's nothing in the fridge. And I need to book you an ap-" Connie's list was cut off by Jacob's lips pressing to hers.

"5 minutes, and then you can get on with your list."

Sighing, Connie let Jacob lead her back to the couch. "If this is just to kiss, then I'm going back to work because you just fall asleep on me as soon as I get all hot and bothered."

Jacob gave a laugh as he sat down, pulling Connie back onto his lap. "I just want to say thank you."

"For what?" Connie questioned, lifting his top to check his dressing, making him tutt and pull down his top.

"For finding me."

"You know I would have-"

"I'm not talking about Spain, Connie." At this, she blew out a long breath before meeting his eyes again. She didn't know what to say, what to tell him. This man had saved her. He had saved her effectively from herself, from destroying her relationships with her daughter, with her staff... He had pulled her out of being the person she had begun to hate. As ever, she couldn't force the words out, constantly acting in the manner of self preservation, no matter what the cost. But he knew that.

"I didn't find you, Jacob." She eventually spoke, quietly, and just as her head began to drop he brought his fingers to her chin so that she was looking directly at him. He then slowly released his hold, tracing his fingers slowly down her jaw and then her neck, curling around in her hair.

"Do you remember the time, when I asked you out for dinner?" His fingers trailed across her collarbone and she gave a soft laugh. Of course she remembered. "And you said-"

"I'm sorry but, I think I'll have to say no." She looked up at him, and this time he laughed, before pressing a kiss into her hair. "You then said that you don't ask twice."

"Mhm." He murmured into her hair, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the small, velvet box that he had been carrying ever since they arrived back home, waiting for the occasion to arrive. "Well, I suppose I kept to my word, because I haven't actually asked yet, right?"

"Jacob.." Connie whispered, shaking her head a little and looking worried. Their current relationship was perfect. What if marriage changed things? What if-

"Let me say it, and then you can say whatever you need to." Jacob assured her, smiling when Connie let out a shaking breath and nodded. "I've never met someone like you, Constance Beauchamp. I wanted to make this perfect for you, I had everything planned down to the last detail, but this last week has made me realise that it's not the asking or the day that matter, it's the years we might spend together that are need to be perfect. All that right now needs is a smile on your lips when I say...Queen B, will you marry me?"

Connie brushed tears from her cheeks and gave a soft laugh as she then moved the hand to cup jacob's cheek "Did you mean that to rhyme?"

"You know I didn't." Jacob smiled back widely.

"I already told you my answer." Connie whispered before dropping a gentle kiss to Jacob's lips.

"Tell me again." He urged.

Connie nibbled her lip then, and Jacob saw a flash of the old, panicked Connie across her face before a smile lit her lips once more. "You want to marry me even though I'm from Peckham?"

"Well, we can keep that detail just between us. I have a reputation to keep up." Jacob replied.

Laughing now, Connie nodded her head, still smiling as tears fell. "Of course I will marry you."

"Well, that is a relief..." He playfully pushed her face away from his, stroking the tears from her cheeks as he did so. "Don't cry, sweet cheeks. I'm trying to make you happy. I've been told explicitly to recount every detail of this proposal to your daughter the minute she arrives home, she would never forgive me if-"

"I am happy. I'm, I'm so happy." He laughed as she spoke in between her tears, holding her as she cried softly into his shoulder.

"So...Do you want to see it?" He held her back as he opened the box, before snapping it shut. He took her left hand, placing it on the left side of his chest, slipping the ring onto her finger. He had barely fitted it before her lips descended onto his, smiling despite the tears that continued to run down her face.

"Oh, just one thing." He pulled away suddenly, grinning. "I'm not to expect any competition at the altar? I'm not exactly fighting fit for a tussle with Mr Beauchamp-" He was silenced as she pulled her leg over him, and pushed her lips to his. He groaned, in pain as well as with pleasure as his chest strained underneath her.

"Married, divorced, from Peckham and a child... Whatever have you let yourself in for, Muscles?"


End file.
